To the Ends of the Rainbow
by Athena Quartz
Summary: The adventures of Lapis Lazuli the fairy princess continue. An old enemy has returned in an attempt to awaken an ancient evil that could jeopardize the circle of seasons. Princess Lapis must journey beyond her fairy kingdom to past tests, outwit a fairy hunter, and find the one thing that could save the world with the help of friends new and old. (Sequel to A Gem of a Fairy)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Preparation and Anticipation

Not long ago, a newly born fairy with exceptional magic and an uncontrollably curiosity ventured beyond the safety of her world of fairies. There, she met a young human prince who took her to his kingdom, allowing the young fairy to get to know humans in a way that no other fairy had ever dreamed of. Along the way, she and the prince had developed romantic feelings for each other and didn't want anyone to tear them apart, even though they come from different worlds. However, an evil fairy wanted to drain the young fairy's magic and take over the fairy world. In a trying battle, the young fairy defeated her enemy, which in turn; ending up sacrificing her life, but she was resurrected for her selflessness. Fulfilling a great destiny, the fairy queens praised the young fairy for her heroism, coronated her as a princess and allowed her to be with her true love. Now, the next chapter of the young fairy's life is about to unfold as a new adventure takes wing and this is where our story begins.

* * *

It had been almost a year since the coronation of the fairy princess Lapis Lazuli and she was planning out the preparations for a very important day for fairy kind. This was the first time that the young princess would be in charge of the fairies' spring equinox ceremony known as the Festival of Flowers.

The Festival of Flowers was one of the most important traditions in fairy culture. This ceremony was both necessary and crucial to help winter transcend into spring. On the first day of spring, the fairies would use their magic to activate a magical flower called the Vernal Blossom. When it's petals opened, it would disperse enchanted pollen to help all the sleeping seeds in the ground sprout and grow into flowers sending the spring season into motion. This had to happen or else winter would stretch on forever and all the things that happened in spring wouldn't come to pass.

As the fairy in charge of the whole festival, Lapis was responsible for making sure everything went off without a hitch. And the princess could not have been anymore stressed.

"Okay, Lapis. You can do this." the fairy princess said to herself as paced in the hall of the fairy queens' tree fortress. "Just go in there and talk to them. You're in charge of this festival. The future of flourishing life is resting on your shoulders." The thought made her whimper anxiously.

"Hello, sweetie." her husband, Prince Jamie came in. "I heard your voice and wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, Jamie." Lapis said, rushing up to him. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm just nervous about this little meeting."

"Why is that?" the prince asked.

"The Festival of Flowers is less than a day away and I'm so stressed out." the young princess explained. "I came to talk to the fairy queens so that they can help talk me down, but I feel so shy about talking to them."

"I don't see why you _should_ feel shy about talking to the queens." Jamie said, putting his hands on her shoulders and kissing her check. "Remember, _you_ are royalty too and the fairy queens know you well. Just say what you want to say and you'll be fine. And I'll be right behind you the whole time."

"Okay." said Lapis, feeling a little more confident. Taking a deep breath, the princess took the handles of the two large doors in front of her and opened them to reveal the queens' throne room to her and her husband. The two of them walked into the throne room to face the three fairy queens before them.

"Good morning, fairy queens." Lapis greeted them, curtsying to the three royal sisters. "Thank you for allowing me to meet with you."

"Hello, Lapis." Blue Diamond said, warmly. "What brings you here to our throne room today?"

"I want to talk to you about the Festival of Flowers." the fairy princess answered, trying to stay calm.

"Yes, we are very excited." Yellow Diamond nodded. "And so are all the other fairies."

"Well, here's the thing." the young princess continued. "I think I might be more nervous than excited about the festival. This is the very first all-important fairy tradition I've ever been in charge of. I'm worried I might... make a mistake."

"Lapis, I assure you will not make a mistake." Pink Diamond promised her. "We know you are up to the task. After all, you were the one who encouraged us to allow humans to take part in the ceremony."

It was true. Ever since Lapis and Jamie got married, fairies and humans have been brought closer together in unity. The fairy princess wanted to include humans in one of the most important fairy ceremonies and had asked the three fairy queens especially for just that.

"You're right about that." said Lapis, smiling. "I mean, what are the odds of something horrible actually happening at the Festival of Flowers? So, you really think I'm ready?"

"We have the utmost confidence in you, Princess Lapis." Blue Diamond assured her, smiling.

"And speaking of important occasions." Pink Diamond brought up. "Tonight is a full moon and you know what that means."

"The birth of a new fairy!" the princess gasped excitedly, turning to Prince Jamie. "We definitely don't want to miss that."

"And if it's not too much trouble, we would like you to plant the new fairy's seed tonight." Yellow Diamond stated to her.

"I would be honored." Lapis responded, feeling greatly privileged.

"Well then, we look forward to meeting at the Tree of Life tonight." said Pink Diamond.

"Me too." the fairy princess conveyed. She and Jamie were about to head out, Lapis stopped midway and turned to the queens. "Oh and by the way, thank you for your reassurance and confidence in me."

And with that, the royal couple filed out of the throne room. As they walked through the great hall, Prince Jamie turned to his wife and said, "I told you that had no reason to be anxious around the queens."

Lapis smiled at the human prince and thought that maybe the fairy queens were right. It wasn't very likely that anything bad would happen at the Festival of Flowers. And what was the worst thing that _could_ happen anyway? However unbeknownst to her and her husband, an ominous, black shapeless cloud was spying on the fairy princess through one of the hall windows.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Born Under the Same Moon

Night had fallen over the fairy world and all the fairies had gathered around the Tree of Life in anticipation as the full moon continued to ascend over the velvet blue sky. Lapis gathered with her husband and friends up front to get a closer look at the action.

"It's almost time." some of the fairies whispered eagerly. "This is so exciting!"

The leaves on the tree began to glisten under the moon and stars and in a sparkle of light, the magical seed began to grow from the branches. However, everyone was surprised to discover that there was not one, but two seeds produced from the tree. One was bright red like fire and the other was a cool blue almost like ice.

All the fairies began to murmur in amazement amongst each other.

"Two seeds in one night?" Lapis questioned. "That doesn't happen very often."

"I know." Pearl whispered back. "I wonder what kind of fairies could be born from those seeds."

"Only one way to find out." replied the royal fairy.

The fairy princess stepped forward and plucked the seeds from the branches, dug two holes, put a seed in each one, and covered them with dirt. The patches of dirt where the seeds were planted sparkled under the lustrous moonlight and in the blink of an eye, a blue flower and a red flower sprouted in sync of each other. Their petals opened to reveal two different small fairies all curled up as if they were sleeping.

The fairy in the red flower was bulky with dark burgundy hair and scarlet skin. Her bright red wings glowed as if they were burning flames and her eyes were black when she opened them for the first time. The fairy in blue flower was skinnier than the red fairy and she had light blue skin and ice blue hair with bangs that hid her eyes so it was hard to tell what eye color she had. Her shimmering blue wings were like snowflakes falling or frost covering a window. Both fairies wore a mini dress made out of dandelion fluff as their only clothing.

As the two newborn fairies sat up, all the other fairies greeted the new arrivals warmly. Princess Lapis offered a friendly hand to each of the fairies and helped the two of them down from their flowers as the three fairy queens came to join the young princess.

"Welcome to the world of fairies, little ones." Pink Diamond said to the newborn fairies, kindly. "You've definitely astonished us when we learned that two fairies would born tonight."

"Really?" the red fairy asked, to which the four royal fairies nodded in response.

"Now, let's have a look at your wings." Lapis spoke as she traced her fingers along the edges of the little blue fairy's wings. Meanwhile, Pink Diamond ran _her_ fingers along the red fairy's wings. The two sets of limp fairy wings perked up from the royal fairies' touch. The youngest fairies snickered and flapped their wings a little.

Then, the fairy princess took the two fairies by the hand to help them test their wings for the first time. They felt themselves rise off the ground as they gave their wings a stronger flutter. It looked a shaky and the two newborn fairies were a little nervous at first, but soon got the hand of it as they balanced themselves and flew with ease. Finally, the little blue and red fairies landed firmly on the ground again.

"I know all this might be a little confusing and overwhelming for you." Princess Lapis told the newborns. "You're not alone. I felt the same way when I was born. But then, I found a group of friends who always stuck by me and still do."

She turned to her six fairy friends who smiled and waved.

"And don't forget, you also have each other since you were born on the same night." Blue Diamond reminded them.

"Do you mean we're kind of like sisters?" the small blue fairy asked.

"It would seem that way." Yellow Diamond answered. The two small fairies exchanged a happy look.

Without a moment of haste, Princess Lapis and the three fairy queens raised their hands and showered the two newborn fairies with a cascade of multicolored fairy dust. In a twinkle of an eye, the young fairies outfits began to change. The red fairy was now wearing a red tunic made out of red poppy petals held by a maroon belt, a matching headband held by a red carnation, light red leggings, and dark red boots. The blue fairy now had an outfit that included a top made of light blue freesia petals, a skirt made out of blue anemone petals, a bracelet made out grape hyacinths, and midnight blue slippers.

"Fellow fairies, let us celebrate the arrival of our two newest fairies, Ruby and Sapphire." Pink Diamond announced with jubilance.

All the fairies in the land applauded for Ruby and Sapphire with great joy. Lapis' friends and husband came forth to join the fairy princess and to meet the two newly born fairies officially.

"Hi there!" Pearl said, enthusiastically. "Oh, you two are just so cute!"

"You know, you two came at a very exciting time." Stevonnie told the two sisters.

"Really, we did?" asked Sapphire, her and Ruby feeling puzzled.

"Absolutely." Princess Lapis answered. "Tomorrow is the first day of spring. Which means that you get to experience your very first Festival of Flowers. That's where us fairies gather together and help bring the season of spring into the world."

"Wow, that's a really big deal." Ruby commented. "Especially for really young fairies like me and Sapphire."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Amethyst replied, giving a chuckle.

"It might sound daunting, but every fairy counts, even the ones who just came into the world." Garnet explained to the two young fairies. "And don't forget, you have the support of your fellow fairies so you should have no reason to be worried."

Lapis' ears were extra observative of the last sentence Garnet said. She decided to take the magenta fairy's words of wisdom into account. Perhaps they would come in handy at keeping the princess's stress levels low when she upheld the Festival of Flowers tomorrow, that is if she could keep her friends from suspecting that she had butterflies in her stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: An Old Enemy Returns

The spring equinox had finally arrived and that meant it was time to kick off the Festival of Flowers. The fairy world was decorated with ribbons and paper flowers, all in spring colors. Princess Lapis and Prince Jamie were seated with the three fairy queens in the royal seating up on the stage with the Vernal Blossom up at the front. The fairies and folks from the kingdom of Delmarva had gathered around, waiting for the festival to begin.

The young fairy princess was still a little anxious about having the whole festival resting on her shoulders. Then, she looked and saw the familiar, comforting faces of her friends smiling at her from within the crowd. There was some kind of magic that friends had that could tell you that everything was going to okay without saying a word, which was something that Lapis was in desperate need of.

She arose from her throne and walked to the front of the stage to greet the awaiting crowd.

"Attention, everyone." the fairy princess declared. "Welcome to the annual Festival of Flowers."

All the humans and fairies in the crowd cheered wildly with excitement.

"And let me say, it is an honor to have the citizens of the kingdom of Delmarva here to join us for our first-ever fairy/human mixer." she continued as the fairies cheered for the humans. "So without any further ado, let the Festival of Flowers begin!"

But just before the fairies send their magic into the Vernal Blossom, Jamie noticed something coming over from across the horizon and hurried up to his wife and asked, "Hey Lapis, what's that up in the sky?"

"Storm clouds?" Lapis said, squinting up at the sky. "We're supposed to have clear skies."

The fortuitous clouds caught the attention of the other fairies and humans as well. When the clouds got closer and blocked out the sun, some of the fairies and humans noticed snow falling from above. And then in a whirlwind of snowflakes, someone Lapis never imagined she'd ever see again appeared before everyone.

"Jasper?" Stevonnie questioned, startled. "That's impossible."

There was no mistaking the figure's menacing yellow eyes and wild white hair. However, her orange and black wings were now gone and she was wearing a black, silk dress with a matching boots and cape. Princess Lapis, Prince Jamie, and Lapis' friends rushed over to confront the ill-boding visitor.

"Hello, little Lapis Lazuli." the wicked, wingless fairy sneered. "So you're a princess now? What a joke. Anyway, did you miss me?"

"Hardly." answered Lapis. "I thought you were destroyed when we last battled you at the Tree of Life."

"Not exactly." Jasper said to her. "You see, after you unleashed that blast of magnified magic; my body was reduced to a cloud of smoke and I was exiled to the forbidden Flint Mountains. There, I absorbed the dark magic from the rocks and regained my physical form."

"Then, why are your wings gone?" asked Peridot.

"You fool." the corrupted fairy replied, not believing who clueless the green fairy sounded. "Every fairy knows that you permanently lose your wings as punishment for commiting an inexcusable crime to fairy kind."

"But if you spent over a year in the Flint Mountains in exile, then why did you come back?" Steven inquired.

"Well during my exile, I discovered the tomb of an ancient, evil malefactor that was bent on ruling over all fairies." explained Jasper. "I spent months trying to find a way to awaken her spirit and resurrect her. I knew that she was the one who could help me achieve my creed of revenge."

"Wait, who is this villian you're talking about?" Princess Lapis interrupted as the three queens arrived to accompany the young royal fairy.

"What do you mean 'who?'" the orange, wingless fairy responded. "Malachite."

The fairy queens were paralyzed with anxiety at the name that the fairy witch had said.

"Malachite?" Pink Diamond echoed with fear.

"Who's Malachite?" asked Ruby, Sapphire, _and_ Lapis in perfect unison.

Blue Diamond put her hands on the fairy princess's shoulders as she clarified, "A very long time ago, a fairy was born under a full moon; but it's light was blocked out by a dark cloud and the fairy that was born had an unhealthy, innate obsession with power. She used her harsh magic of ice and snow to subdue her enemies in order to claim her dominance, but there was one fairy who wasn't having it. Rose Quartz, a fairy who's magic came from love which was opposite to that of Malachite's challenged the evil fairy. After facing her off, Rose banished Malachite to the Flint Mountains and had her wings stripped for her crimes."

"Did Malachite come back for revenge?" Ruby inquired.

"Oh, yes." Pink Diamond replied. "From then on, Malachite was nicknamed the Ice Queen for her fearful powers and bitter demeanor. She sought to claim her vengeance by attempting to plunge all the world in an eternal winter, sending all the fairies into a permanent slumber."

As Lapis and Ruby gasped, Sapphire asked the pink fairy queen; "Well, how did Rose stop her?"

"She used a very powerful and ancient artifact known as the Seven Prism Wand." Yellow Diamond simplified. "However in order for the wand to work, Rose had to unleash her magic at maximum power, which was an act that would destroy Malachite _and_ herself. But, she cared more about the lives of _other_ fairies than her own, so she took the risk and both fairies were reduced to fairy dust."

There were brief, sorrow-filled gasps.

"While Rose Quartz was honored forever as a hero, Malachite's fairy dust was cast off back to the Flint Mountains and tucked away in a secret tomb." Blue Diamond added.

"It _was_ secret, until I discovered it during my exile." Jasper brought up. "And the Seven Prism Wand has the power to do anything you can imagine, including bringing Malachite back to life. Once I uncover the whereabouts of the wand, I'll use it's magic for my nefarious needs and fulfill Malachite's dark purpose."

"Not if we stop you first." Princess Lapis protested.

"You really think I'm scared of a tiny fairy princess and her entourage?" the wingless fairy snickered.

"You should be." said Pearl. "You are aware that there's only one of _you_ and hundreds of us."

"Who said that I came here _alone_?" asked the fairy witch as an army of human-sized, abominable snowmen appeared out of the blue.

And appearing alongside Jasper, was a masked man who wore a thick trench coat and a large hat that hid half of his face. He turned to the young fairy princess's direction and chortled wickedly.

With exchanged looks of fear amongst her friends, it was clear to Lapis that every fairy was in a world of trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Hunt is On!

"Capture all the fairies, you beasts!" ordered Jasper, the monsters charging at the horror-stricken fairies. "But, leave the royals to us."

"Evacuate the humans!" Princess Lapis told her friends. "Jasper will never be able to find them in the Enchanted Forest."

"This way, everyone!" Garnet called as she and Lapis' other friends flew towards the edge of the Enchanted Forest. The citizens of Delmarva quickly followed, except for Prince Jamie who stayed right by his wife's side to protect her.

Meanwhile, the other fairies tried to flee and hide, but the snow monsters could jump great heights. And when the monsters made a single touch to a fairy's wings, they almost instantly froze and the fairies ended up falling out of the sky. The now-grounded fairies were soon helpless to capture by the snow monsters who could put a fairy to sleep with just one icy hug.

Just then, Lapis noticed that Ruby and Sapphire were cornered by a lone monster so she and Jamie rushed over to save them, the princess using her magic to shield the two young fairies from the monster. That was when she heard a terrified shriek and saw that the fairy queens were left at the mercy of the evil fairy witch who was freezing them with her powers.

"No!" the young princess cried as she prepared to spring forth and rescue the royal sisters.

"Don't try to save us!" Pink Diamond told her. "You'll be captured too. Quick, head west! Find the Elder Guardians!"

The sinister-looking man approached Lapis with a large butterfly net gripped in his hands, the princess frightened by this adversary. But then, she saw her friends return on the scene and Peridot said to her, "We evacuated all the humans."

"We gotta get out of here." the fairy princess stated, much to the other fairies' confusion. "Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!"

Jamie and the nine fairies bailed from the scene while trying to dodge snow monsters, but they came to the edge of a cliff, with the scary man on their heels. Lapis tried to use her magic to protect the ones she cared about, but Jasper had arrived to attack the escaping lot with her own magic. The princess's and witch's magic clashed and ended up knocking the group of ten over the cliff and into the river below screaming. The ten of them thrashed around to stay afloat in the river despite its perilously fast current, but then found themselves plummeting over a waterfall and out of sight from the male menace.

Of course what he was completely unaware of was that Lapis had created a protective bubble around herself, her husband, and her friends. Without it, the fairies and the human prince would not have survived the great fall.

"Is everyone alright?" the fairy princess asked when the bubble that protected the group emerged from the water and popped when it came in contact with the ground.

"Yeah, thanks to you, darling." Jamie answered, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Ruby said, freaking out.

"We gotta go back and put Jasper on ice for good." Amethyst proclaimed, full of confidence.

"And try to square off against those beasts _and_ a fairy hunter?" Steven replied. "I don't think so."

"Well, what do we do now?" asked Pearl. "We can't go back after seeing what happened to the queens. And what about Lapis? With Jasper trying to capture her again, she needs protection now more than ever."

While the other eight fairies were conversing amongst each other, Lapis walked over to where the beach met the sea with her head down and her loosely clenched fists shaking. Prince Jamie joined her to silently comfort his princess.

"The Seven Prism Wand." she said, softly.

"The Seven what?" Amethyst questioned in puzzlement.

"That artifact the fairy queens talked about, the one that Jasper is looking for." the blue princess explained. "She said it had the power to do anything. Maybe if we find it, we can use it to undo all the damage that Jasper has done. So that's why Pink Diamond said to go find the Elder Guardians."

"Who are the Elder Guardians?" Steven asked.

"I honestly don't know." Lapis answered. "But, if anyone knows where to find the wand, it should be them. They're somewhere to the west."

"West?" Stevonnie echoed as the other fairies started looking tense. "But no fairy has ever gone that way before. Who knows what dangers there could be?"

"I know you're scared." the young princess said. "If you don't want to come, I totally understand. But, I also know that I can't find this wand or these guardians by myself."

"Well, you won't have to." Amethyst assured her. "We're all in this together."

"That's right." agreed Steven. "We'll be by your side every step of the way, Lapis."

The other fairies nodded in agreement, their courage glowing in their eyes. Jamie put an arm around Lapis' shoulder and the fairy princess smiled.

"Let's go find these guardians." Peridot proclaimed as the fairies started to fly west across the sea, with Jamie riding on Lapis' back.

* * *

Back in the fairy kingdom, Jasper was standing around impatiently, her arms crossed and her foot tapping. Around her, snow monsters were gathering all the sleeping captured fairies to put them in cages. Then, the fairy witch saw the frightening human return to her, shuffling his feet nervously and asked, "Well, where's the princess?"

"Gone." the human grumbled. "How could I have been so stupid? I can't believe the fairy princess escaped me!"

"I too am surprised." Jasper replied to him. "You're supposed to be the most notorious fairy hunter there is."

"Watch it, you witch." he snapped. "I'd clip your wings right now if you still had them."

"I can't let Lapis get the Seven Prism Wand or everything I worked for will be dashed." the wingless fairy snarled, malice glowing in her yellow eyes. "Help me track the fairy princess and her lousy friends or you won't get your pay. We will stop at nothing until she and that wand is in our grasp."

"Consider it done." the fairy hunter miserly. "Besides, how far can that little brat and her lackeys get on their own anyway?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Meeting Bismuth

Princess Lapis and her friends had flown over a great stretch of ocean for what seemed like an eternity and everyone was growing weary.

"Are we there yet?" Amethyst complained.

"Where?" Steven replied. "We don't even what place we're supposed to be going to."

"We've gotta find the nearest landmass and rest for a while." Sapphire panted.

"Look!" Ruby cried out, pointing at something coming up over the horizon. "There's land just up ahead!"

"Finally." Pearl said, breathing a sigh of relief. "My wings could use a break."

Once the upcoming land was easier to use, the group of ten could make out a shipyard that was right beside a medium-sized island. The fairies landed and Prince Jamie climbed off of Lapis as they all took in the surroundings. Just then, they noticed that the shipyard was full of ogres and trolls, and they all were very surly, grotesque, and barbaric.

"Ugh, no one warned me that we were going to encounter trolls and ogres on this quest." Peridot spoke in a uncomfortable tone.

"Should we use our magic to disguise ourselves as humans?" Stevonnie offered as a suggestion.

"No, just using _any_ magic is enough to make a scene." Lapis stated, advising against it. "I think it'll be best if we just lay low and not draw any attention to ourselves."

"Let's try blending into the crowd." Garnet suggested as the group approached a mob of ogres. "And remember, no flying."

The human prince and the fairies walked among the ogres and trolls, trying to mind their own business. At the same time, they were also trying to stay their toes and keep their guard up. Just then, Stevonnie and Lapis each felt a pair of brawny hands firmly grip their shoulders, pulling the two fairies back as they screamed in surprise.

"Lapis!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Stevonnie!" Garnet cried.

The friends saw in terror that a pair of ogres were attempting to kidnap the unsuspecting fairies. Stevonnie managed to elbow the ogre that grabbed her in the stomach, granting her the opportunity to escape and rally her friends to help rescue the fairy princess. Lapis tried to copy the tall pink fairy's actions, but her captor pinned her arms to her sides and lifted her up a little while she tried to squirm free.

"Aren't you a pretty little fairy." the ogre said to her. "Hey, everyone! I caught a pretty little fairy!"

A crowd of trolls and other ogres gathered around the incarcerated fairy. Jamie and the eight fairies tried to get to their friend, but there were too many burly bodies to maneuver through.

"So what's your name and where are you from, sweet fairy?" Lapis' ogre captor asked.

The fairy princess bit her lip and refused to say a word.

"Aw, what's wrong?" one of the trolls in the crowd teased. "Cat got your tongue?"

The troll then pulled something out of a small burlap sack he was carrying. It was a long, stiff feather that looked like it was dusted with glitter. The young fairy princess was worried about was going to happen so she turned her face away from what was about to befall her. But a bigger ogre with even bigger hands grabbed her head with one of them to keep it still. And then, the troll took the feather, stuck it's tip into one of her nostrils, and started wriggling it around. Every so often, the troll would switch back and forth between nostrils; tickling them with that feather.

Lapis scrunched her face from the tickling, but she could not move her head away. The glitter that coated the feather made the itching sensations that were already building up even worse.

"P-p-please stop." Lapis breathed as the tickly sensations continued to worsen. "I...I...I'm gonna..."

"Gonna what?" another troll from the crowd taunted as grins began to form.

Realizing that she couldn't keep it in any longer, the young princess let out a great, big sneeze, followed by a few more; "HATCHOOOO! HATCHOO! HATCHOO! HATCHOO!"

The ogres and trolls all smirked and laughed like a clan of hyenas as her nostrils kept being mercilessly harassed by the tickly feather.

"Stop it!" Lapis pleaded desperately as more ticklish sensations were starting to get to her. "Somebody...HA...HA...HATCHOO! Help me!"

The blue fairy felt absolutely humiliated being publicly sneeze tortured at the mercy of trolls and ogres like this. And the worst part was, neither her husband nor her friends couldn't do a thing to help jet without attracting attention to themselves from the beastly creatures instead.

Just then out of the blue, a blurry figure (at least it was blurry through Lapis' eyes since they were watery eyes from all sneezing) dashed through the beasts with ease and snatched the young fairy right out of the ogre captor's grasp.

"Come on, follow me!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. The rescued fairy could feel that she was in the arms of someone, tell that she was moving, and hear the shouts of an angry mob running behind her.

Lapis had eyes squeezed shut, almost too afraid to see who had grabbed her. She didn't know if this stranger had truly rescued her from her being tortured or if they were just saving her to have her all to themselves. She opened her and found that she and her friends were in some alley, hidden from the seething mob. Then, she looked up and gazed upon the stranger who had saved her.

The savior was a burly feminine character and had grayish periwinkle skin, black eyes, a caved-in multicolor gem on her chest, and rainbow-colored hair in dreadlocks. She wore an outfit of pink lily and red poppy petals that were secured by a maroon belt and had a matching pair of boots. She also had a pair of silvery, multicolored wings that shone in the sun. Wait, wings!? Could this be who Lapis thought it was?

"Oh my gosh!" the young princess gasped. "You're a-"

The fairy cupped her over the blue fairy's mouth and whispered, "Shhhh, be quiet! Do you want those brutes out there to hear you?"

"Sorry, it's just that we didn't know there was another fairy on this island." Lapis said to the burly fairy.

"I didn't either until I saw all of you." the unknown fairy replied. "Never thought I'd ever see my own kind _ever_ again."

"What do you mean?" Amethyst asked. "Who are you?"

"And how long have you been on this island?" added Stevonnie.

"The name's Bismuth." the rainbow-haired fairy introduced herself. "And I lost count of the number of days I've been here a long time ago. But if I could guess, I'd say it's been about eleven years."

Everyone was silent with shock.

"Wow!" Lapis was the first to speak. "I can't believe I've never seen you in the fairy world."

"Neither can we." Ruby also said. "And my sister and I were just born about a day ago."

"New arrivals, huh?" the burly fairy spoke.

"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners?" the blue princess apologized, realizing that she forgot to introduce herself and her friends. "This is Ruby, Sapphire, Peridot, Amethyst, Steven, Stevonnie, Pearl, Garnet, my husband Prince Jamie, and I'm Princess Lapis Lazuli."

"Princess?" Bismuth echoed. "But there hasn't been a princess-"

"For several years?" Lapis cut her off. "I know. It's a really long story. And I know that you're confused about why humans and fairies are together, but that's a long story too."

"Well anyway, what's the lot of you doing here?" the brawny fairy asked. "Don't you know that trolls and ogres are dangerous?"

"We don't plan on staying here." Garnet explained. "We're just resting our wings for awhile before we continue heading west."

"You see, an evil fairy whose wings were taken away ambushed our home with a fairy hunter and an army of snow monsters to back her up." Pearl added. "So we're on a quest to find an artifact called the Seven Prism Wand and use it to save our kind."

"The only ones who about the wand's whereabouts are the Elder Guardians, but we don't know where they live." Lapis also said. "What we need is some kind of map."

"A map?" said Bismuth. "I know a place that's filled with all kinds of maps."

"Really?" Lapis smiled, her enthusiasm peaked. "Can you take us there?"

"Hold on, Lapis." Sapphire halted the young princess. "I don't know about this. We don't know anything about this fairy. I mean, we just met her."

"Sapphire's right." Steven whispered. "What if Bismuth is just trying to trick us?"

"But, she's not like the ogres and trolls who kidnapped and harassed me." argued Lapis. "She saved me. You can't gain anyone's trust farther than that."

"If Lapis trusts Bismuth, then I trust her too." Prince Jamie stated.

The other fairies gave in and gave nods of approval to accepting Bismuth's help.

"Okay, Bismuth." said Stevonnie. "Lead the way."

"It's just over the hill." The burly fairy spoke as the nine fairies fluttered in Bismuth's direction with Jamie riding on Lapis' back once again.

While some of the fairies were a little skeptical about putting their trust in a fairy they barely knew, Lapis showed no fear in Bismuth whatsoever. After all, she did save the fairy princess. Why would Lapis have trust issues with a fairy who rescued her?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Answers in the Archives

"Here we are." Bismuth announced after the fairies had fluttered for about a mile and a half until they arrived at a fortress-like building.

"Uh, what exactly is this place?" Steven asked.

"This is the Evergrowing Archives Vault." the brawny fairy explained. "It holds texts, scrolls, books, you name it."

"Even maps?" Lapis hoped.

"Yep, even maps." answered Bismuth.

"How come the Archives haven't been trashed by the ogres and trolls yet?" Ruby inquired.

"Trolls and ogres are too stupid to learn how to read anything." the rainbow-haired fairy told her. "They don't even know that this place exists."

She opened the giant door and the group of eleven entered the massive vault. On the inside, there were bookshelves stacked with scrolls and books in all different sizes and colors. It was absolutely breath-taking.

"I've never seen so many books and scrolls in one place." Prince Jamie said in awe.

"Me neither." Princess Lapis replied. "And I've seen one of the biggest collections of books in your royal library."

"This place is huge!" Peridot exclaimed, her eyes widening as large as saucers. "How are we supposed to find what we're looking for in all this?"

"We'll have to divide up the workload." the fairy princess proposed. "Everybody split up and grab as many maps as your arms can carry. Let's meet back at this spot to sort through the horde."

Everyone went off in different directions to cover as much of the Archives as they could. The fairies flitted over the really high shelves and Jamie combed over the lower shelves on the rolling ladders attached to the shelves. Unaware to all the others, Lapis saw a pair of metal, gate-like doors open themselves, giving way to an unexplored room. The blue fairy looked up at the top of the door and saw a plaque that read, "Restricted Section." Fearlessly curious as ever, she went into the obscure room without showing a sign of nervousness.

"How are you doing up there?" asked Sapphire who was skimming over a shelf that was a little lower than Pearl.

"Not too well." the pale fairy answered. "I'm not really sure how all these maps and scrolls are organized."

Jamie and the other fairies weren't have as much luck finding any good map either.

Meanwhile in the restricted section, Lapis was fluttering frantically between shelves of all different heights looking for the right map that would help her and her friends on their quest.

"Come on. Come on." she muttered. "I wish the map we're looking for would just come to me."

Just then, the princess heard the sound of a rolled up paper fall to the floor behind her. She flew over to the paper on the floor. And then, she noticed a note that read: _This map has the magic to show the way of the place of the owner's heart's deepest desire. I believe that it may help you find what you seek. ~ R.Q._

The young princess hurried to join her husband and friends back at their designated meeting place. While everyone else was carrying an armful of maps, Lapis only had the one map she found held in her fist. All the other fairies were stupefied.

"We thought you'd have more maps on you." Steven said, being the first one to speak.

"I think I found the one map that will guide us on this quest." Lapis replied excitedly as she unfurled the map to show everyone. Unfortunately, the map didn't show anything, no landmarks, no drawn-on compass; nothing. The fairies felt like they were just teased.

"Lapis, it's blank." Peridot told her friend with a deadpan expression on her face.

"What?" Lapis said in disbelief as Prince Jamie joined her side. "I don't understand. It's supposed to guide us to our desired destination. This map is magical. Map, please show us the way to the dwelling of the Elder Guardians."

Almost instantly, images began to draw themselves onto the empty paper. Now it was starting to look like a map. This took everybody off-guard.

"So much for being a blank slate." Stevonnie commented with a smirk.

"It looks from here, we have to cross more of the Western Ocean, go through the Quartzsite Caverns, and that's when we enter the Iridescent Valley." Garnet said, examining the map.

"This is exactly what we need." Pearl declared happily. "Lapis, where did you find this map?"

"In the restricted section." the fairy princess answered.

"You were in the restricted section!?" Bismuth questioned, completely awestruck.

"Yeah, was I not supposed to?" Lapis asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Not everyone is lucky enough to gain access to the restricted section." the burly fairy said to her. "How did you get in?"

"I don't know." the young princess answered. "The doors just opened up for me and I went inside. And the map fell on the floor from a shelf, but I don't what particular shelf. There also was a note attached to it like someone knew we were looking for it."

"Who left it?" inquired Sapphire.

"There was no name." replied Lapis. "Only the initials 'R.Q.'"

"Well now that we've got the right map, let's get going to help save the fairy world." Jamie proclaimed, heroically.

"Hold on." the fairy princess said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We know the place we're going to, but I still have no clue about the Elder Guardians. I don't know who they are, I don't even know what they do."

"What about: The Elder Guardians: Ancient Fairy Protectors?" asked Amethyst as she pulled out a random green book and read the cover.

"Where did you find that book?" Lapis asked, dumbfounded as rushed over to her.

"Under 'E.'" the purple fairy answered. "Duh."

The blue fairy took the book and started flipping the pages.

"During the early days of the reign of the three fairy queens, a group of powerful fairies were brought together help defend the fairy world." Lapis read aloud to everyone else. "The queens appointed them to be the safeguards of fairies and their sacred, magical treasures. The palladium of all fairy kind was their top priority. However, in order to protect the especially powerful trinkets from falling into the wrong hands; they took these treasures and themselves far beyond the world of fairies for safekeeping. Having been around for thousands of years, the protector fairies were later on known as the Elder Guardians."

"One of those treasures has to include the Seven Prism Wand." Stevonnie chimed in.

"Exactly." the fairy princess nodded. "So let's get going."

"Wait a minute." Pearl halted her. "You don't expect us all to fly all the way across the Western Ocean, do you? We'd have to stop and rest between islands everyday."

"She's right, Lapis." Jamie added. "We're going to need some kind of ship."

"Well, this island _does_ have a shipyard." Lapis thought aloud. "I'm sure it has plenty of boats to choose from."

"You know what else this island has?" Amethyst asked rhetorically. "Ogres and trolls!"

"She's got a point there, princess." said Bismuth. "We have to be very careful and smart when it comes to those creatures."

"Right." the fairy princess spoke. "And you're just the fairy to help us with that problem."

"What?!" the other fairies chorused, unable to believe that she still trusted the brawny fairy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Escape from the Island

The fairies and human prince had recently left from the Evergrowing Archives Vault and were flying back to the shipyard. They did their best to fly as high above the heads of the ogres and trolls as possible.

"We should be safe as long as we're up in the sky like this." Pearl stated.

"Yeah, another thing that trolls and ogres can't do is jump really high or jump period." said Bismuth.

"All we have to do is get to the docks undetected, find a ship, and we're home free." Princess Lapis told everyone.

"Are you sure the trolls and ogres can't see us all the way up here?" Steven asked the rainbow-haired fairy worriedly. "What if our sparkly wings give us away?"

"We're thirty feet in the air and in broad daylight." she answered in a confident tone. "They'll never see us."

"If you say so." the pink boy fairy replied.

"Okay, the docks are just to the northeast of us." Stevonnie pointed out. "Let's go."

As the fairies were fluttering in the direction of the ship docks, something stopped Peridot dead in her tracks. She started quivering and said fearfully, "Uh guys, we've got a new problem."

"What is it?" asked Sapphire.

The green fairy didn't answer. Instead, she was shakily pointing at something coming up over the horizon and heading their way. Lapis squinted in the direction Peridot was pointing in and was shocked to find two frighteningly familiar figures approaching on a black storm cloud.

"Jasper and the fairy hunter?" she gasped. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"How did they know we were heading west?" Pearl questioned in distress.

"We cannot let them know we're here." said Ruby. "Let's just go find a ship and get out of here."

Down below, Jasper and her fairy hunter partner had touched down onto the island. She looked around at the grotesque creatures that resided here.

"Are you sure the princess and her friends got this far?" the fairy hunter questioned.

"Oh, they're here." the fairy witch assured him, confidently.

The fairy hunter had no idea how she could be so sure about her hunch.

"Listen up, you monstrosities." the wingless fairy barked. "We're looking for a group of nine fairies. Did they pass through here?"

Meanwhile up above, the fairies watched everything with worrisome expressions as they saw Jasper trying to get some information about their whereabouts out of the ogres and trolls.

"I sure hope trolls and ogres have poor short-term memories." Prince Jamie said softly to Lapis.

"One of these fairies in particular is a blue princess about as tall as a teenage human." the fairy witch also brought up. "And she's often seen hanging around a human prince."

The group of eleven decided that now was a good time to make tracks for the ship docks. Unfortunately, they weren't able to stay inconspicuous for long. A troll had caught sight of the fairies' shimmering wings from up above.

"Look!" he called, pointing at the princess and company. "There are some fairies up there!"

Jasper and the fairy hunter turned in the direction the troll was pointing and saw the very panic-strickened fairies and human prince.

The wingless fairy grinned a sickening smile at Lapis as the fairy hunter pulled out a loaded crossbow with a net in it and aimed it right the young princess.

"Let's move!" Bismuth ordered urgently as the fairy hunter pulled the trigger and launched the net. The fairies flew out of the way just in time. The fairy hunter growled in indignation and saw that the fairies were fluttering northeast.

"They're heading for the ship docks!" he said to Jasper.

"Attention!" the wingless fairy bellowed for all the trolls and ogres to hear. "The first ogre or troll to capture the fairy princess and bring her to us will be rewarded handsomely with all the gold you can horde!"

All the ogres and trolls within earshot cheered greedily. Soon, they were all chasing after the group of fleeing fairies.

"We've got company." Stevonnie announced, seeing the mob of ogres and trolls following them from below.

"I've got this." Lapis said as she used her magic to create branches that were low to the cobblestone street.

Since trolls and ogres had such big feet, they easily stumbled over the thick branches as if they were tripwires.

"That'll buy us some time to find a ship." the fairy princess stated.

"Impressive." Bismuth commented, marveling the blue fairy's great power.

Soon, the group of eleven had arrived at the ship docks and there was a plethora of wooden ships to pick out of the whole lot.

"Alright, now which ship should we take?" Pearl asked in deep thought.

"Well, we better choose fast!" Steven said, fearfully.

From around the corner, the wingless fairy, the fairy hunter, and their mob of monstrosities were charging towards the friends.

"Jasper's coming!" Lapis exclaimed. "We need to pick a ship."

"Quickly, get on." an unfamiliar voice called. The voice came from a particular ship whose deck was covered by a large tarp. Perhaps it was some kind of cargo ship. A hand from under the tarp was motioning Jamie and the group of fairies onto the boat.

"Should we trust them?" Peridot asked, feeling unsure.

"I don't think we have a choice." Garnet responded.

The human prince and the fairies boarded on the ship one by one. Lapis was about to join her friends, but then she noticed that Bismuth was hanging back.

"Bismuth, come on." the fairy princess urged.

"I think I'll stay here and make sure they don't follow you." the burly fairy decided.

"No way." Lapis refused, shaking her head. "We're not risking leaving a single fairy behind on this quest."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in doing any favors for fairies I don't even know." Bismuth said, crossing her arms.

"Bismuth, please." the young princess pleaded. "We need all the help we can get. If we don't stop Jasper, our world will literally be frozen and our kind will be doomed. Doesn't that matter to you?"

"Why would I risk my neck to help fairies who don't trust me?" the rainbow-haired fairy asked.

"Not every fairy thinks you're untrustworthy." Lapis assured her.

"Oh, really?" Bismuth scoffed. "Name one fairy who isn't skeptical of me."

"Me." the blue fairy answered. "You saved me from being tortured by the trolls and ogres. And without your help, we wouldn't have a map to the Iridescent Valley. I'd trust you with my life if I have to. Please come with us."

She held out a hand to the stubborn, brawny fairy. And after a few precious moments, Bismuth finally gave in and took the princess's hand and joined her on the ship with the others. The ship casted off from the dock and started to sail away.

The trolls and ogres stopped at the edge of the dock, but didn't jump into the water. Trolls and ogres couldn't swim, and Jasper and the fairy hunter knew this and gave the mob sour looks.

"Never send a troll or ogre to do a fairy hunter's job." said the fairy hunter, shaking his head.

"That princess is not going to get away from me." the fairy witch grunted, having no patience whatsoever. "Follow that ship!"

The fairy hunter found Jasper and himself a smaller boat of their own and set sail after Lapis and her entourage.

"You can fly, little princess." the wingless fairy murmured, sinisterly. "But you can't hide."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Pirate Fairies

On the sailing ship, Princess Lapis, Prince Jamie, and their friends were led down a trapdoor to a secret room under the ship's deck. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath from the frightening event that they just escaped from.

"We're safe." Steven said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, for now at least." Amethyst replied. "But who helped us?"

"Can it really be?" one unfamiliar voice whispered.

"That's impossible." another murmured.

Princess Lapis used her magic to create a ball of light that lit up the room and there, standing before them was a group of five more fairies.

"More fairies!?" both groups chorused in surprise.

It was crazy to believe, but there they were: five other fairies from outside the fairy world.

One fairy had light raspberry-colored skin, black eyes, black and purplish-gray poofy hair, and sparkling wings that were the color of wild berries. She also had a gem in her naval and one on her chest. She wore a top with fluttering sleeves made out of wild rose petals, a skirt made out of zinnia petals, and fuchsia-colored slippers with light red socks.

The smallest fairy had light orange skin, short peach-colored hair with bangs that hid her eyes, a gem on the back of her right hand, and wings that were the color of tangerines with being lightly rained on. Her outfit had a skirt made out of orange hibiscus petals, a top made out of ranunculus petals with small spray rose petals on the neckline and sleeves made out of almond blossom petals, and sunset orange slippers.

Two of the five fairies looked like identical twins. They both had light red skin, blackish-maroon hair, black eyes, and glimmering wings that were the color of cherries. However, the two of them looked a little bit different. One of the twins had a thin, red gem on her left hip and her outfit had a short-sleeved shirt with a frilly pink neckline that resembled cherry blossoms and raspberry-colored colored shorts. The other twin had her gem on her right hip and an outfit that had a light pink top made out of peach blossom petals and a skirt made out of dark pink rose petals. Both twins had a bracelet of red cardinal flowers and both were barefoot.

And then, there was a fairy with lime green skin, forest green eyes, pale neon yellow hair, two gems under her eyes that looked like dimples, and glistening green wings that reminded Lapis of a dim forest. She also wore a green top made out of primrose leaves, a white skirt made out of mayflower petals, and bright green slippers.

"We thought we'd never meet others of our own kind." the green fairy said. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Lemon Jade. And this is Rhodonite, Padparadscha, and the Rutile twins."

"Pleasure to meet you." Lapis told Lemon Jade. "I'm Princess Lapis Lazuli. And this is-"

"Princess?" Padparadscha echoed, cutting off the blue fairy.

And then out of nowhere, she and the other four fairies started bowing before Lapis and saying, "All hail the princess!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Lapis told the five fairies, halting them. "It's okay, guys. You don't have to bow down before me. I may be a princess, but I don't expect anybody to treat me like I'm high and mighty." They stopped bowing and got back to their feet.

"Anyway, this is my husband, Prince Jamie." the young princess continued. "And these are my friends: Steven, Peridot, Amethyst, Stevonnie, Pearl, Garnet, Ruby, Sapphire, and Bismuth."

"These are the first fairies we've seen in a long time." Rhodonite said. "You should meet our captain. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he meets you."

She opened the small door on the ceiling and led the others up to the ship's deck.

"Captain Lars!" one of the Rutile twins called. "Come look! We found some other fairies!"

"One of them is a princess!" the other twin chimed in. "See for yourself!"

Lapis looked at the hem and saw a young male human who looked in her direction who rushed over to greet her and her group. He was tall, had curly burnt orange hair that was styled like a mohawk, black eyes, and tan skin. He wore a red frock coat over a gold vest, white pants, and black boots.

"You must be Captain Lars." the fairy princess guessed. "I'm Lapis Lazuli. It's nice to meet you."

"Well, how about that?" the human said. "Nice to have some more fairies on this crew. Did you recently run away?"

"Run away?" Stevonnie repeated.

"Some years ago, a fairy hunter invaded the fairy world and attacked a lot of innocent fairies." Lemon Jade explained grimly. "Many of our kind were fortunate enough to be saved by the fairy queens or flee from the fairy hunter in our case. Other fairies weren't so lucky. Eventually, he was driven out of the fairy world; but the fairies he captured were never seen again."

Lapis and her friends gasped in horror, feeling bad for the five fairies.

"We were so afraid of going back to the fairy world that we never did." Rhodonite added. "But then, Lars found us and took us in and we've been sailing across the sea as pirates ever since."

"What a coincidence." Amethyst commented. "We were chased by a fairy hunter just a short while ago."

"So you _did_ run away?" Padparadscha inquired as the rest of her friends stood there with mouths agape.

"Not exactly." Garnet answered. "You see, another fairy named Jasper, who had her wings stripped from her teamed up with the same fairy hunter. They invaded the fairy world with an army of snow monsters in tow and imprisoned the fairy queens."

"And now, Jasper is looking for an ancient magic wand so that she can resurrect an evil fairy named Malachite and shroud the world in an endless winter." added Pearl.

"If Jasper has her way, the whole world will become a frozen wasteland and no one will from Malachite's icy grasp." Stevonnie included.

"So that's why we gotta find the wand before Jasper does." Steven also said.

"Can you please take us to the Iridescent Valley?" Lapis asked Captain Lars, showing him the map of the particular landscape.

"The Iridescent Valley?" he said, studying the map. "That's on Crystal Lattice Island."

"So you _can_ get us there?" Sapphire inquired hopefully.

"Sure we can." the pirate captain answered. "But let me warn you, the journey may take a few days and there's no telling what dangers we might encounter."

"As long as we look out for each other, there's nothing to wary about." Lapis stated confidently as she and her husband's fingers entwined.

"We're always there for each other." Prince Jamie agreed. "We rely on safety in numbers _and_ love, especially in desperate times."

"Once we get the Seven Prism Wand and stop Jasper, we can save the fairy world." Pearl said with a gleam of hope in her eyes. "And then, you five can come back home with us."

"Go back home?" one of the Rutile twins said before sighing at the pleasant thought. "It's been so long since we've been back in the fairy world."

"Then, let's set a course for Crystal Lattice Island and get that wand!" Captain Lars proclaimed before getting back to the ship's wheel and steering the vessel to the west.

The human prince and the fairies cheered except for Bismuth, who hung back from the group and was looking down at her feet as if something was bothering her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: A Second Chance

That night, the pirate fairies' ship was still sailing across the ocean which was now an inky, purplish black. All the fairies had turned in for the night. But, the only ones who were still up and about were Princess Lapis and Prince Jamie. They were out on the starboard railing, looking out into the night.

"How lucky are we that found a ship with fairies in it?" Jamie commented. But then, he noticed that his wife had a troubled look on her face. "What's the matter? Is everything okay?"

"I'm just afraid that Jasper is going to find the Seven Prism Wand before we do." the young princess vented. "I don't even want to imagine how catastrophic it would be if Malachite was resurrected. I'm almost scared to find out what she looks like."

"It's going to be okay." the prince promised her. "We _will_ get that wand and we're going to save everybody. Jasper won't be victorious."

Jamie and Lapis leaned into each other and shared a passionate kiss.

"Uh, this seems like a bad time; doesn't it?" a familiar voice sounded off, startling the young couple. The blue fairy turned and saw Bismuth with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

"I'm sorry." the princess apologized. "I thought we were the only ones still awake."

"So did I." the rainbow-haired fairy replied with a somber tone in her voice.

"Hey, Bismuth." said Lapis, after a brief awkward moment of silence passed. "I wanted to ask you this before, but I didn't because we had just met and I thought it seemed a little personal; but why did you spend over a decade on the island of trolls and ogres?"

"Well, you know that fairy hunter that you, your friends, and the pirate fairies were talking about?" Bismuth asked, to which the fairy princess nodded in reply. "I was there during the first attack."

"Really?" Lapis gasped. "What was it like, being in the middle of that chaos?"

"He came out of nowhere." the burly fairy answered. "But wasn't the way he caught us off-guard that affected me, it was what he took from me specifically."

"What happened?" the fairy princess asked.

"I used to have friends like you, back when I lived in the fairy world." explained Bismuth with a somber smile. "Crazy Lace Agate, Larimar, Tiger's Eye, Snowflake Obsidian, and Biggs. They were some of the greatest fairies you'd ever meet. On the day that the fairy hunter ambushed us, all the fairies scrambling all over the place in hysterical panic. The fairy queens tried their best to corral the fairies to safety. Some fairies were out of harm's way, other fairies; they weren't so lucky. I witnessed the fairy hunter ensnare my friends right before my eyes. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to do. Trying to save them was a bad idea because _I_ would've ended up being captured too. So instead, I fled from the fairy world and never went back, knowing that I could never forgive myself for not saving my friends."

"Wow, I'm so sorry." the young princess apologized sympathetically after Bismuth finished her story. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't know." the brawny fairy told her before giving a heavy sigh. "Seeing you with your friends and being happy with them makes me realize how badly I miss _my_ friends."

"You said you wanted nothing to do with fairies you don't even know, so why did you come with us anyway?" Lapis inquired.

"I thought that if I helped you and your friends stop Jasper and save the world, it'll help me redeem myself and maybe _my_ friends will forgive me for abandoning them all those years ago." Bismuth replied, giving a sad smile.

"I completely understand how you feel." the blue fairy said. "I've been having a lot of doubts about being a fairy princess lately. The fairy hunter attacked us on one of the most important days of fairy culture, even after I promised myself that everything would go off without a hitch. I feel like I'm failing as princess of the fairies. Maybe if I find the Seven Prism Wand, I'll be able to make it up to myself."

"Hey, you couldn't have known that Jasper and the fairy hunter would come to lay siege on the fairy world." the rainbow-haired fairy said back. "At least you're doing something to make things right. All I did was flee for my life. I doubt my friends will ever look me in the eye again after this is all over. They're probably beyond angry at me for abandoning them."

"Bismuth, I don't think anyone can stay mad at somebody for more than a decade." Lapis reasoned. "I guarantee you that when we make through this adventure, your friends are sure to forgive you for what happened."

"I hope you're right." Bismuth replied softly with the glum look on her face.

"Anyway, Jamie and I are going to head off to bed." the young princess yawned. "You coming?"

"Later." the burly fairy answered, glancing to the side. "I just want to sit here for awhile longer."

"Okay, good night." Lapis said to her as she and her husband went to the sleeping quarters where the other fairies slept.

* * *

Later that night, most of the fairies were peacefully asleep. However, Princess Lapis, who was snuggled into Prince Jamie's embrace was quivering and moaning from the dream she was having.

 _The fairy princess found herself flying in a black, foreboding void. It was endless, empty, and frightfully quiet. But then, a sound broke through the silence; a sound that Lapis was very familiar with. It was the sound of a baby crying._

 _"Hello?" she called out. "Is somebody out there?"_

 _The blue fairy fluttered her wings and tried to find the source of the sound. She could hear the cry getting louder and louder, but she didn't know if she was getting closer. There was nothing in this void but her._

 _Just then, the young princess saw a white light and she shielded her as all the blackness in the void was drowned out. When she uncovered her eyes, she saw a bassinet in the middle of an empty room. When Lapis approached the tiny bed and looked inside, she saw a face that was almost completely concealed by blankets. Only the eyes were left uncovered and when they opened, Lapis was surprised by the eye color. They were royal blue, just like hers. What did this mean?_

The young fairy princess awoke with a shout and started breathing heavily.

"Lapis, are you okay?" Jamie asked, who woke up the moment he heard his wife scream. "What's the matter?"

"I just had a freaky dream." Lapis told him as her breathing slowed down. "There was a cry, it was coming from a baby. When I finally got to her, I saw that she had the same eye color as me. But why did I dream about a baby in the first place?"

"Maybe you're just really tired." the human prince thought aloud. "After all, it has been a really long day."

"Long is an understatement." the blue princess replied sleepily as she rubbed one of her eyes. "But, maybe we should just go back to sleep."

She yawned and cuddled back into her husband's chest as Jamie wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and took in the sweet floral scent the princess had. The prince loved the way Lapis always smelled like flowers, that and the softness in her skin.

It didn't take long for the blue fairy to fall asleep. Her tired body soaked in the warmth of the kindhearted prince and she was back in the realm of sleep once again.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Dryder Delusions

The next morning was very hazy and all the fairies used their magic to create lights in order to help navigate the pirate ship through the mist, which was as thick as pea soup. All of a sudden, Princess Lapis saw a landmass come up in the distance.

"Look, you guys!" she exclaimed with joy. "I think I see Crystal Lattice Island! Now all we have to do is get through the Quartzsite Caverns and we'll be in the Iridescent Valley!"

"That's odd." Stevonnie remarked. "We can't be there already. Lars said it would at least a couple days before we get to the island."

"Maybe the tectonic plates moved it closer." Peridot guessed.

"Well, come on everyone." Lapis said impulsively as she flew over to the strange island. "Elder Guardians, here we come!"

Just then, Garnet noticed something unusual. There seemed to be a large dome over the whole island. As the ship sailed closer, the dome faded for a brief moment to show that it was concealing the island's true nature.

"Guys, that's not Crystal Lattice Island." the majenta fairy confirmed. "Someone's trying to deceive us."

"How do you know, Garnet?" asked Steven.

"I can see some kind of illusion barrier covering the whole island." "Wherever Lapis is going, if we don't rescue her; we'll ever see her again."

"Lapis, come back!" Prince Jamie cried out. "Don't go to that island! It's a trap!"

But the fairy princess was too far away to hear the pleas of her husband or her friends. The moment she penetrated the illusion barrier, some odd magic was at work that turned her princess dress into a leaf wrap that covered her chest; but exposed her stomach and a matching short skirt. Her shoes had disappeared from her as well. Of course, Lapis didn't notice a thing as she kept flying deeper into the island.

"We have to go after her." Pearl said, frantically.

"No, _I'll_ go." Garnet insisted, turning to the group. "Everybody else wait here on the ship. We already have one last fairy. The last thing we need is another."

She flew off into the direction of the young fairy princess, but before she cast a spell to protect herself from the strange magical elements of the island.

Meanwhile, Lapis was still flying; looking for the mouth of the cave that would lead to the Quartzsite Caverns. Unfortunately, there wasn't any sign of it. Maybe this _was_ the wrong island.

But just before she could even think about turning around and going back to the ship. A dirty green cloudy surrounded the blue fairy's wings and their flapping started to slow down.

"Something feels wrong." Lapis said to herself. "My wings feel heavy and tired. I can't fly anymore. I g-gotta land... before I d-drop out of the-" The moment she saw her wings stopped fluttering altogether and drooped to her sides, that was when the princess realized that it was too late to fly lower. "SKY!"

Garnet, from afar watched in horror as the fairy in distress screamed and plummeted into the forest below. She crashed through the branches just before she made her way to the ground. But instead of hitting the hard dirt; she landed on something soft and kind of sticky.

"Whew. Good thing this net was here." Lapis said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, since I can't fly, I'm going to have _walk_ back to the ship."

However, when the young fairy tried to get stand up; she found that she couldn't move. No matter how much she struggled, she just couldn't remove herself from the net. Then, she gasped in fear when she realized that this wasn't a net, it was a web. The fairy princess turned and saw that the there were webs covering the forest floor.

"Well, well, well." a silky voice said from out of the blue. "Looks like I caught a fairy in my web."

Lapis looked up and much to her fear, she saw a large, frightening creature approach her. This creature had the upper body of a female human with pasty white skin, sleek black hair, and red eyes. However, she also had a black lower body of eight spider legs and abdomen with spinnerets. Right away, Lapis recognized this monster as a dryder. She remembered reading about them in the Big Book of Dangerous Creatures back in the fairy world. The fairy princess screamed in pure horror when the dryder faced her.

"Please don't eat me." she pleaded with tears in her eyes. "I don't wanna become a dryder's breakfast."

"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you; my little butterfly." the monster assured her. "I can't tell you how long I've waited for a fairy to come visit. You'll make a perfect addition to my collection."

Collection?! Lapis wasn't going to stay on this island for another second. She wanted to get back to her friends, and quick. She squirmed in her sticky trap in order to get loose, but once again; the effort proved to be futile.

"Relax, dear butterfly." the dryder told the trapped princess in a motherly tone that made her feel oddly calm. "We're going to have some fun. Isn't that right, my babies?"

Just then, about two hundred spiders that were the size of golf balls started to scurry onto the web. They started to crawl all over Lapis' body, going from her bare feet and legs to her ribs and underarms. But of her whole body, a majority of the little spiders seemed to favor the princess's tummy, which was apparently hypersensitive. And boy, did those tiny spider legs tickle.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the young princess laughed, hysterically. "WWWHATT AAAREEE TTTHHEYY DDDOOOOINGGGG?!"

"Oh my babies are just having some fun before I prepare for your silky slumber." the dryder answered. "And by the looks of it, you seem to be a very ticklish fairy; especially that cute belly of yours."

"PPPPLLLEASSSSE!" Lapis begged as she continued to laugh uncontrollably. "MMMMMAAAAKKKKEEE TTTTHHHEMMM SSSSTTTOOOPPP!" The ticklish ordeal goes on for at least fifteen minutes.

"Okay, little ones." the dryder said to the little spiders as they start to retreat from Lapis' body. "I think she's had enough. It's almost your nap time anyway. Hurry along now."

The spider swarm scurried off the web and into the forest green, leaving the blue fairy to catch her breath.

"We should be getting _you_ ready for your nap too." the dryder stated.

"But I... want to go... back to my... friends." Lapis panted.

"Come on, my butterfly." the monster said in that relaxing, motherly tone again. "It's okay to admit you're a little tired."

"But I-" the blue fairy tried to speak.

"Sssssshhhhh!" the dryder hushed her, cutting her off. "It's time to settle down, little butterfly."

Just then, hypnotic rings of neon pink, orange, yellow, and blue began to form in the monster's eyes, catching Lapis' full attention. She had forgotten about wanting to go back to the ship as gazed at the mesmerizing display of beautiful colors which reflected into her own eyes.

"You poor, little fairy." the dryder lamented in her soothing voice. "You've travelled a long way from home, haven't you? You must be so sleepy."

"Mmhm." the fairy nodded tiredly as a tingling feeling of sleepiness began to grow inside her and a silly smile spread across her face.

"Then stay here with me." the dryder suggested. "Mother will take care of you as you sleep and make sure that you are always safe and cozy."

"Safe... and... cozy." the young princess slurred, repeating the last words of the monster. The feeling of drowsiness was starting to overpower her.

Once Lapis was in a deep enough state of hypnosis, the dryder began her work. She squeezed out wet silk from her spinnerets and started wrapping the fairy's bare feet after bringing them together. Working her way up the trapped princess's body and using her spider legs, the dryder started to form a cocoon around Lapis' slim body.

Although the silk was a little tight, it was comfortably thick like a blanket and warm, almost like a hug or even a mother's embrace. This, plus the dryder's hypnotic eyes and silky voice made it even Lapis to resist the urge to fall asleep.

When the web cocoon made its way to the blue princess's belly, the dryder couldn't resist giving it some gentle, ticklish pokes.

"That tickles." the hypnotized princess giggled bubbly, all while still under the spell of the dryder's eyes.

"Sorry, sweet butterfly." the dryder apologized. "But I couldn't help myself. You have such a cute little tummy. I wonder if there may be a surprise on the way."

The little fairy didn't know what that meant, but she was so comfy and sleepy that she could care less.

So, the dryder pinned Lapis' arms to her sides as continued to weave her captive's silk chrysalis. A comforting warmth filled the young fairy's tummy like she had just had a bowl of hot soup as the silky web hugged the smooth skin of it. The sleepy princess was so relaxed, she couldn't stop a sneaky yawn from escaping her lips.

"You want this, don't you?" the dryder asked the fairy captive. "You want to stay with Mother where she will always protect you and keep resting comfortably. Is that what you want, my butterfly?"

"I... want to... stay with you." Lapis slurred, feeling more sleeping than ever as her cocoon had worked all the way up to her neck.

"Now open wide." the dryder commanded sweetly and the blue princess obeyed without argument.

The spinnerets then sprayed a ball of silk into the fairy's mouth, the gag numbing her taste buds. More silk was added to seal the gag place so that the young fairy couldn't spit it out. The dryder wrapped her captive in even more silk until it was just under her nose and the cocoon was complete.

"All done." the dryder announced. "Now it's time to go to sleep, my little butterfly."

Lapis mumbled incoherently through her silk gag as her eyes began to droop.

"Sssssshhhhh!" the princess's captor hushed, caressing her check. "Ssssssleeeeep, my precious butterfly. Sssssssleeeeep."

Finally, the young fairy gave in to the immense sleepiness she had been feeling, closed her eyes, and drifted off to dream land. The dryder picked the cocooned fairy and carried her bridal style to her nest, but not before she put silk balls in Lapis' ears, deafening her completely. Garnet, who had been spying from the trees followed the two of them in hopes of being able to rescue the princess.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Ethereal Swan

In the dryder's nest, Garnet saw the monster had Princess Lapis's cocooned form resting on a silk hammock that was spun between two trees and tucked in under a blanket spun by the dryder. The monster captor was being surprisingly caring towards the sleeping fairy as the dryder pushed her bangs to kiss her forehead and ran her bony fingers through the young princess's hair. She rocked the hammock gently as Lapis slept like how a mother rocks her baby in its cradle.

Garnet knew that she needed a plan to rescue so she racked her brain for a moment. And then, the majenta fairy happened upon an idea. She flew up and shook the tree branches to make it sound like another fairy had just fallen out of the sky to land on a web. This caught the dryder's attention and she parted from the sleeping princess to examine the situation. It was a golden opportunity for Garnet to sneak in and rescue her friend.

Meanwhile, Lapis was deeply asleep in her comfy prison with most of her senses impaired, making her blissfully unaware of the surroundings in the waking world. Unfortunately, the dream that the princess was having was anything but blissful.

 _She was back in that creepy, empty void again and like before, the sound of a crying baby echoed from the blackness. The young fairy tried to get closer to the sound and soon found herself back in that empty room with the bassinet again._

 _This time, she reached into the bassinet and pulled the tiny infant that was swaddled in a fuzzy blanket._

 _"Who's baby are you?" the blue princess wondered as she cradled the blanket bundle in her arms._

 _Just then, a unfamiliar, soft feminine voice rang through the vacant room calling, "Lapis."_

 _"Who's there?" asked a startled Lapis._ _"Who said that?"_

 _"You must learn of your future." the voice told her. "You must go to the Moonbeam Lagoon. There you will find the answer you seek."_

 _"Wait, who are you?" the young fairy pleaded as the scenery began to fade away. "Don't go! Tell me you who are!"_

Back in the waking world, Garnet had made her way to Lapis, who was still in a very deep sleep. The majenta fairy quickly used her magic to dissolve the web cocoon her friend was encased in, including the silk that gagged her mouth and plugged her ears.

"Lapis!" Garnet said loudly. "Lapis, wake up!"

The young princess's eyes slowly started to open. At first, her vision was a little blurry; however it cleared up in no more than a few seconds. The very first thing she saw was the familiar face of Garnet.

"Garnet?" the blue fairy asked, feeling too sluggish to even stretch. "Boy, am I glad to see you."

"So am I." the majenta fairy replied as the last bit of silk that her friend was trapped in disintegrated. "Now let's get you out of here."

"What's going on here?" the dryder demanded, returning to her nest once she realized that the "trapped fairy" was just a diversion. "How dare you awaken my precious butterfly from her peaceful slumber."

"You have no right to keep my friend on this island." Garnet said to the dryder as she tried to help Lapis stand due to the weakness in her body.

"What do you know?" the monster retaliated. "I am the only one who can provide her with all the love, comfort, and security that she needs to shelter her from the cold weathered evilness of the outside world."

"You don't know me well or long enough to actually love me." the fairy princess spoke out. "And I don't know anything about you except that _you_ want to keep me prisoner on your creepy island forever."

"I'll keep you here with me regardless." the dryder replied as she proceeded towards Lapis and Garnet.

"Time to take to the skies." the majenta fairy declared.

"But Garnet, I can't fly." the young princess told her. "The air on this island is making my wings weak and heavy."

"Then I'll have to carry you." her friend decided.

"Oh no, I couldn't ask for to do that." the blue fairy said, feeling like this was too big of a favor to do.

"But do you trust me enough to _let_ me carry you?" asked Garnet.

"Yes, of course I do." Lapis answered immediately as she was picked up by the majenta fairy and carried bridal style as the younger fairy wrapped her arms around Garnet's neck.

"Good, now hang on tight." Garnet smiled as she took off into the sky, leaving the angry dryder on the the ground and having no way of catching the fairies.

Once they were at the beach of the island where the ship was, Garnet landed and gently set Lapis down on the sand. Then, the majenta fairy used her magic to restore strength to Lapis' body and wings. Her outfit had changed back to normal as well.

"Thank you for saving me." the fairy princess said gratefully. "But how did you know that island was dangerous?"

"It was just a gut feeling I had." Garnet simply answered.

Just then, a sparkle glinted off the beach and when Lapis and Garnet approached the sparkle; she saw that it was a deep red crystal.

"This wasn't here before." the blue fairy said, studying the crystal. "I wonder where it came from."

"We should probably hang on to it." her friend suggested, conjuring a small bag to store the treasure. "It could be important."

The two fairies fluttered back onto the ship to regroup with the rest of their friends. Lots of the fairies embraced Lapis in a group hug.

"Thank goodness, you're okay." Pearl said, feeling relieved.

"I wouldn't be if it wasn't for Garnet." the fairy princess told her.

"It's good to have you back." Prince Jamie said hugging and kissing his wife. "What happened to you while you were on that island?"

"I'll tell about it later." the princess promised. "Right now, I have to go to the Moonbeam Lagoon."

"Where's the Moonbeam Lagoon?" Stevonnie asked.

"On Nightshade Island." Captain Lars answered, examining the map. "That's not far from here. In fact, it's on the route to Crystal Lattice Island."

"But why do you need to go there, Lapis?" Steven asked.

"I keep having this dream about a baby crying and this voice is telling me to go to the Moonbeam Lagoon." the blue fairy explained. "Maybe there's someone there who can tell me the reason for having these baby dreams."

"Well since it is on the way to Crystal Lattice Island, I guess it couldn't hurt to go there." the young pirate captain stated as the ship sailed off.

Two and a half hours later, the ship arrived at a cloudy looking island and an odd and immediate darkness fell over.

"Uh, wasn't it just noon a few seconds ago?" Amethyst asked, her eyes trying to adjust to the newly introduced darkness. "What happened to the sun?"

"Nightshade Island has a special magic that makes it night all the time here, whether it's nighttime outside the island or not." Lars explained to the latter.

"But why does it always have to be dark here?" Ruby inquired.

"The life that lives here can only thrive under the cover of darkness." the captain answered.

"So how are we supposed to find the Moonbeam Lagoon without any light?" questioned Peridot.

"I don't know, but we should go as a group this time; just so nobody gets lost." Lapis proclaimed. "Ruby, Sapphire, Bismuth; you guys wait here with Lars and his crew on the ship and keep an eye out for any trouble."

"Will do." Sapphire agreed.

"Everybody else, come with me." the fairy princess continued as she, her husband, and her oldest fairy friends journeyed into the dark depths of Nightshade Island. "Now let's go find that lagoon."

As the group of eight ventured on, a loud grumbling sound sounded off and startling the group.

"What was that growling sound?" Steven aske fearfully.

"I hope it's not some dangerous wild animal." Lapis said with heightened anxiety.

"Actually Lapis, I think that's your stomach growling." Jamie told her, pointing towards her belly as it gave off another loud gurgle.

"Oh." the fairy princess giggled sheepishly. "I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt more hungry in my entire life."

Suddenly, a fragrant smell grabbed her nose. It was one of the sweetest smells she had ever taken in.

"I think I know how to find the Moonbeam Lagoon." Lapis announced to her group. "Follow that fragrance!"

Everyone followed the smell that the young princess had taken in and that was when the scent led them to a bush of pretty flowers.

"These are moonflowers!" Stevonnie exclaimed. "They only grow at night."

"Hey, doesn't that body of water almost look like a cresent moon?" asked Peridot, raising an eyebrow.

The fairy princess joined the green fairy and true to her words, the body of water near the moonflowers _was_ shaped like a cresent.

"You're right." said Lapis. "So this must be the Moonbeam Lagoon. We made it!"

All of a sudden, there was a swirl of sparkles and moonlit water to reveal the most gorgeous swan anyone had ever seen. She had feathers as white as snow with silver in her wings and gold specks on her crown that resembled a tiara.

Mustering up the little amount of courage she had right now, the fairy princess cleared her throat and spoke. "Hello. I am Lapis Lazuli, princess of the fairies." she curtsied. "And who are you?"

"I am the Ethereal Swan." the beautiful bird said in a relaxing feminine voice. "I am the onlooker of fairy and human dreams. Now, what is it that you seek?"

"I've come to you because I want to know the reason for having this reoccurring dream about a baby." Lapis answered.

The Ethereal Swan ran her wings along the sides of the fairy's belly (which actually felt soothing) and confessed, "My dear, the reason you see a baby in your dream is because very soon, an event will occur that will change your life and the course of fairy history forever."

"What do you mean?" the princess asked.

"What I mean is that you, dear princess Lapis Lazuli are pregnant." the swan responded seriously.

Jamie and the seven fairies gasped in surprise.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Lapis is Having What!?

"Pregnant!?" Steven said in disbelief. "So that means: Lapis and Jamie are having a baby!"

"And not just any baby." Stevonnie told him. "Lapis is going to have the very first fairy baby in existence!"

"But that can't be true." Peridot denied, shaking her head. "How can Lapis be pregnant?"

"Allow me to answer your question by asking the princess a question of my own." the Ethereal Swan stated before turning to Princess Lapis. "Have you and your human partner done anything intimate recently?"

"Actually, yes we have." the fairy princess answered with Prince Jamie shaking his head in agreement.

"Hold on." Pearl butted in. "When did this happen?"

"About a couple weeks ago when Jamie and I were visiting his parents." the blue princess divulged.

Flashback:

 _The royal couple were walking through the town square of Delmarva, shopping for supplies. Between here and there, Lapis saw pregnant women, who were excited about the arrival of a new child or mothers cooing to newly born babies. The fairy princess smiled at the sights, but also felt a little sad at the same time._

 _As they were walking back to his parents castle, Jamie noticed right away how dispirited his wife suddenly looked, which concerned him._

 _"Is something wrong, dear?" he asked. "You look troubled."_

 _"Well, falling in love with you and getting married were some of the best experiences of my life." the blue fairy told him. "And watching women who have babies or are expecting babies made me realize how much I wish to start a family."_

 _"So you want to make a baby?" the human prince guessed. "I mean I won't make you do anything too passionate if it makes you feel uncomfortable."_

 _"It's not really the discomfort that bothers me." Lapis disclosed. "I don't even know that my body will be capable of reproduction. Remember, I'm a fairy; not a female human. I might not be able to grow a baby in a womb the way a female human can."_

 _"It couldn't hurt to try." Jamie suggested. "But again, I won't make you do it without your consent."_

 _"No, I want to do it." the young princess declared. "After all, it's better to try and fail than not to try at all."_

 _"Okay, then let's do it; tonight." her husband decided, the fairy giving a nod of concurrence._

"So later that night, we went through with the baby making; but we didn't think we'd be able to pull it off." the blue fairy said.

"Well, you did." the Ethereal Swan stated. "You are well into your early stage of pregnancy, my dear."

"Lapis, isn't this exciting?" Jamie asked Lapis as the couple held each other's hands. "We're going to be parents. _You're_ going to be a mother."

"I know." Lapis beamed. "I can't wait for the day our little one is going to be born."

"I think you mean little _ones_." the celestial bird spoke up.

"What are you saying?" asked Amethyst.

"I meant to tell you that Princess Lapis is pregnant with twins. They are both girls." she answered.

"TWINS!?" everybody repeated in unison, shocked by this new information. This made the expectation ever more exciting.

"When can we accept Lapis to have her fairy babies?" Garnet inquired the Ethereal Swan.

"The gestation should take about four months." she responded.

"Four months!?" said Prince Jamie. "But it usually takes a human baby _nine_ months to grow inside her mother's womb."

"Yes, Lapis is a magical being and these are _fairy_ babies." the magical swan explained to him. "The magic in Lapis' body will accelerate the babies' development."

The human prince wrapped one around his wife's shoulders and the other gently around her belly while the fairy princess lay her head on _his_ shoulder.

"I would also like to point out the symptoms of fairy pregnancy are a little different than those of human pregnancy." the Ethereal Swan also brought up. "During the next four months, Lapis may undergo extreme hunger; maximal thirst, uncontrollable laugh spasms, dust pox, chronic sleepiness, clingly urges, hypersensitive skin, and hallucinogenic dizziness (to name a few symptoms) as the babies grow in her womb."

"So that's why I feel like I could eat a whole feast." Lapis said to herself.

"Four months is a relatively short time to wait for the babies' delivery." Peridot commented.

"Even so, we can't wait four months." Pearl replied. "Jasper and the fairy hunter are probably hot on the trail for the Seven Prism Wand by now."

"Don't forget about Lapis." Jamie pointed out. "With a fairy princess expecting twins, it's all the more reason to protect her from that fairy witch."

"Then let's not wait around for her to find us here." Lapis advocated. "Back to the ship, everyone."

"Wait." Steven stopped her. "Before we go, Miss Ethereal Swan; is there anything we can do for Lapis during her pregnancy?"

"Hmm, I can tell you care about your friend very much." the magical bird said to him. "The only advice I can give you and your other friends is to be to support Lapis during this time. As long as she's well cared for, her babies will healthy."

"Good bye! And thank you so much!" the fairy princess said to the magical bird as she, her husband, and friends left the lagoon.

The group had just returned to the anchored ship _and_ to the sound of Captain Lars shouting, "Incoming enemy ship off the left flank!"

It was true. Through his spyglass, Lars saw a dark ominous ship coming in from the southwest and approaching the fairies' ship.

"Looks like they found you." he said to the fairies.

"Jasper!" Lapis exclaimed in fear, quivering in her husband's arms.

"What do we do?" Pearl asked, getting panicky.

"Secure the mizzen!" the young pirate captain commanded. "Get below deck! Everybody, prepare to be boarded!"

Jamie and all the fairies filed down the trapdoor that led to the secret room under the ship's deck.

Lapis was the last fairy to go under, but just before she joined her friends, Captain Lars told her; "Now remember, do not come out until I say it's all clear; got it?"

"Got it." the fairy princess nodded as he closed the trapdoor above her.

Above deck, Jasper's ship had closed in on the fairies. She had dropped a plank down so that she and the fairy hunter could walk across from their ship to Lars'.

"Good day, human." the evil witch greeted the lone human "We're looking for the blue fairy princess. Her name is Lapis Lazuli. I don't suppose you've seen her, have you?"

"Fairy princess?" Lars said, pretending to be clueless in an attempt to stall the evil fairy. "I can't say that I have."

Jasper and the fairy walked around on the deck of the fairies' ship. And then, the wingless fairy stomped her foot on the wood, hearing that it was hollow. Most of the fairies below the deck were shaking with fear.

"Hmm, I don't want to point fingers or anything; but I dare say that you're harboring the fairy princess below the deck of this ship." Jasper said to Lars. The fairies did not like hearing the sound of that.

"I'll investigate it myself." the fairy hunter proclaimed, preparing to open the trapdoor. That was even worse.

"Oh no, they're going to find us." Rhodonite whisper shouted. "What should we do?"

"The only thing we can do: fight back." Lapis answered. "I don't care if I'm seen by Jasper and the fairy hunter or not. I am not going to be some helpless little princess. There's more to being a fairy than just looking pretty, so let's show those two what we're really capable of." The other fairies have nods of approval.

"Just be careful, okay?" Jamie advised her. "Remember, you're pregnant with twins."

"Jamie, I'm not _that_ pregnant; you know." the fairy princess said to him.

Suddenly, everyone heard the trapdoor open and the fairy hunter peeked inside the room. However, he wasn't expecting the fairies to start blasting their magic at him.

"What's going on over there?" Jasper asked in a demanding tone.

"The fairies are here and they're retaliating!" the fairy hunter exclaimed. The wingless fairy rushed to accompy him.

"Time to throw you two overboard!" Bismuth declared as Jamie joined Captain Lars to stay out of the way of the magical brawl.

"You take care of the other fairies." the fairy witch told her partner. "Lapis is mine."

She started closing in on the young princess, separating her from the safety of her friends and leaving them for the fairy hunter to pick off.

"You've gotten pretty far for a young fairy, I'll give you that." the corrupt fairy commented as her quarry backed up against a wall. "But I'm sorry to say that this is the end of your adventure _and_ your freedom, little princess."

That was when Jasper sensed an odd force coming from Lapis and said, "That can't be right. It's like there's something growing inside of you."

"It's the fairy babies that are developing inside my womb." the blue fairy told her. "I'm pregnant with twins."

"It's because of that human prince, isn't it?" the evil wingless fairy asked, her eyes widening. "So that means you're the first fairy to grow babies inside of you. You're becoming more special everyday. Malachite will be very interested in you."

Just then, Amethyst noticed that Lapis was alone and cornered by Jasper. Throwing the concern about the fairy hunter to the wind, she swooped in and rescued the fairy princess just before the witch blast her with her dark magic.

"Amethyst, you saved me; but you know you could've handled the fairy hunter." Lapis said to her friend.

"And leave you to that witch?" the purple fairy said. "I don't think so. Besides, that's what friends are for."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lapis saw something sparkle next to a barrel. She realized that it was a small purple crystal. The young fairy wondered how in the world she was able to overlook that.

"That wasn't here before." she muttered to herself as she put the crystal in her small bag, along with the other crystal she collected on the dryder's island.

"I'm getting really sick of these hitchhikers." said Stevonnie as she used her magic to send Jasper and the fairy hunter back to their own ship.

"I'll create a gust of wind to give us some extra speed." Pearl proclaimed as she summoned her power and made the wind pick up.

Soon, the fairies' ship was sailing across the water as fast as a horse gallops on land. And the best part was that it was going to take a long time for the nefarious duo to catch up now. Once they were out of Jasper's sight, the ship slowed down.

"Time to get back on course for Crystal Lattice Island!" Lapis declared in a hearty tone add she held her husband's hand. "Let's go get that Seven Prism Wand!"

The other fairies cheered as their ship cruised along the crystal blue waters. The fairy princess looked down at her belly and rubbed it with one of her hands. With the sight of happy fairy babies in her mind, she realized that getting that magical wand was now more important than ever.


End file.
